It has been revealed that the Korean War (known locally as the “6.25 War”), which had been referred to as the “invasion of the South,” will henceforth be officially referred to as “North Korea’s invasion of the South” for the purposes of soldier education.
An official from the South Korean Ministry of National Defense explained today, “On the 21st we ordered that the term ‘invasion of the South’ be altered to ‘North Korea’s invasion of the South’ when teaching about the 6.25 War, so as to more clearly apportion responsibility for it.”
The Ministry of National Defense has also requested that the Ministry of Education use the same term in education for middle and high school students.
The decision follows a survey that found 69% of high school students mistook the Korean War as a case of “invasion of the North.” It should be stressed, however, that this does not mean they thought South Korea had invaded the North; rather, it is a semantic difficulty that only obtains in the Korean language.
The Ministry of National Defense plans to instruct military units to alter psychological training manuals to reflect the amended terminology when those manuals come up for revision. This happens every five years.
